Oil, That Is...

A Bubblin' Crude

by Royal Nadeau

Discovering oil in New Jersey is not usually the happy occasion it
may be in other parts of the world. Most often, it means trouble. But
the problems discovered a few years ago in Newfoundland, had an interesting
history.

The first major oil pipeline in the United States, built by the Standard
Oil Company, ran from Olean, New York to Bayonne, crossing Sussex and
Morris Counties in the New Jersey Highlands. The first 6-inch line
from Olean to Bayonne was laid in 1881 and spanned a distance of 315
miles; the second 6-inch line was laid in 1882; the third in 1884;
and finally, the fourth one in the late 1880s, making the total capacity
of the system over 50,000 barrels a day.

Sketch of the first major pipeline in the United States
that transferred crude oil from Olean,
New York to Bayonne, NJ showing locations of pumping stations.

At first, the company directors worried that the project would never
turn a profit as the oil fields in Olean were estimated to run dry
within fifteen years. They could not foresee that new, yet-to-be-discovered
oil fields in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
and other locations would keep oil flowing day and night through the
Olean-Bayonne line for more than 45 years, yielding a return many times
the original investment of five million dollars.

The intent was to run the line as straight as the landscape allowed,
without making any attempt to avoid river crossings or mountain ranges.
Running due east from Olean before dipping south and finally crossing
the New Jersey state line at Unionville near Oil City Road, the line
crossed fourteen rivers, twenty creeks and eighty mountain peaks, varying
in heights from 1,400 to 2,530 feet.

One of the few, if not only,
remaining pumping stations in existence.
The buildings are intact but the pumps and
boilers have been removed
to make room
for its current function.

The lines were buried to a depth of 18 inches in the ground. In very
cold weather the oil thickened, and movement would slow especially
in the exposed stretches. Hot salt brine coming up with the oil in
the well would be carried in the pipe along with the oil to help keep
the oil flowing. This same technology is employed today in Russia to
move crude oil from the fields above the Arctic Circle to the lower
latitudes. But as the pipes corrode from the inside out, oil escapes
and causes a "spill".

I was not aware that the Olean to Bayonne pipeline even existed until
I was asked to investigate an oil spill in the Pequannock River. On
February 12, 1996, U.S. EPA Region II was notified by the NJ Department
of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) of an oil sheen extending along
the north side of the Pequannock River. After conducting a walkover
of the site, the EPA initiated oil spill containment and removal under
the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, due to the potential threat to the City
of Newark's public water supply. That's when my friend and colleague,
On-Scene Coordinator Mike Solecki, requested that I make a site visit
to advise him as to how best to remove the oil contaminating the wetland.
But first we had to figure out where the oil was coming from in the
first place.

After talking to some of the folks living in the area, we learned
that the spill site had once been the location of a pumping station
on an oil pipeline that transported crude oil from the Southern Tier
in New York State to refineries in Bayonne. The pipeline contained
11 similarly constructed pumping stations along the way, each one approximately
28 miles from the last. The significant NY pumping stations were in
Olean, Wellsville, Cameron Mills, West Junction, Catatonk, Osborne
Hollow, and Hancock. The New Jersey stations were located in Newfoundland,
Saddle River, and Bayonne. Each station was equipped with duplicate
boilers, engines, and Worthington pumps so that in the event of a breakdown,
the oil would continue to flow without interruption. (Worthington is
a big name in industrial pumps but also is a name well known in the
Highlands as being associated with the family summer estate that became Worthington State Park at the southern tip of the New Jersey side of
the Delaware Water Gap.) The boiler houses contained seven 80-horsepower
steam boilers.

There were a number of places that the oil rose
to the surface
in the marsh where groundwater
would normally surcharge. Under
normal conditions,
these “springs” would keep the soils
moist and
conducive for wetland species.
At the Newfoundland site,
oil would rise to the
surface along with the groundwater creating
what
Mike Solecki referred to as “spooges”; a term
that is now commonly accepted in the oil spill
response community.
(Below) The
recovery and monitor
wells are now permanently capped.

Along with the actual pumping machinery were a number of large cast
iron tanks that held the oil before it was pumped into the next portion
of the pipe. The problem, we learned, was that these tanks were constructed
without any bottoms other than compacted earth. The oil/water mixture
was pumped into the tanks with the hope that the oil would separate
and float on the water in the tank. Unfortunately, this bottom water
did not always serve as a seal, and oil seeped into the soil beneath.
Over the forty-year operation of the pipeline, unknown quantities of
oil were lost to the underlying soils. At the Newfoundland pumping
station, it took nearly a hundred years for this subterranean oil sitting
on the groundwater to finally make its way out to the adjacent marsh
and subsequently into the nearby Pequannock River.

By March, hydro-geologic and geophysical investigations were completed
in order to assess the extent of groundwater contamination and to establish
groundwater flow conditions. Scores of shallow soil borings were completed
so that soil, groundwater and oil samples could be collected and analyzed.
In August 1998, a product (oil) recovery system consisting of a 30-foot
deep, 6-inch diameter recovery well, and a groundwater injection gallery
were installed 150 feet upgradient (above the level) of the extraction
well. In addition, a monitoring network made up of 2-inch wide monitor
wells was installed to better define the thickness and movement of
the oil layer.

A two-phase pump recovered oil and water separately from the extraction
well, and the product was then pumped to an on-site storage tank. The
untreated groundwater was reinjected upgradient to encourage the oil
to flow towards the recovery wells. Subsequently, an additional recovery
system was installed that included a 100 foot interceptor trench 30
feet deep with another recovery well on the down gradient end that
increased the efficiency of recovering the oil.

The author revisits the site of his handywork, one of the recovery
wells.

Stream bank stabilization and anti-erosion devices (coir logs) were
installed by the EPA with the technical assistance of US Department
of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in the autumn of 1998. The initial
response by the City of Newark had removed several inches of contaminated
soil and vegetation from the marsh. A revegetation and planting scheme
was formulated by the NRCS and implemented in spring, 1999 consisting
of planting mostly woody wetland species to simulate the wetland type
on the opposite shore. Herbaceous and grass species were planted on
the coir logs at the river edge. Thus far, better than 90% survival
has been observed, and this project has served as a model for revegetating
and restoring contaminated habitat at oil spill and brownfields sites
across the country.

The recovery of the subsurface oil at the Newfoundland site was terminated
in the fall of 2005 with more than 60,000 gallons of oil being removed.
Oil is no longer seeping into the wetland and contaminating the Pequannock
River, the main waterway that connects all the major reservoirs of
the City of Newark's water supply in the New Jersey Highlands. The
site is visited on a regular basis, especially in the spring following
the snow melt, to see if any oil still present on the groundwater might
be seeping into the marsh and threatening the nearby Pequannock River.

Comments

The old pumping station on Carneige Rd. Westtown has been bought and is a
Marble Cutting Buisness I have heard. The Oleen to Bayonne Line of 1881.

George Scherer24 Aug 2017, 12:53

Please send me new comments posted to this page

Inayat Jilani04 Dec 2015, 18:58

In North Edison Township, NJ, there is a pipeline marker on Salem
Street/Fleet Ave. The sign states there is a high pressure petroleum line
and also a conduit for fiber optic cable. How could I confirm if the
petroleum line is still active, or it is currently used to carry fiber
optic cable? Is there a way to confirm the information? Any help or
directions to get the information will be of tremendous help.Thank you,
Inayat Jilani

Thanks for the information David. We had a paddling tour of the
Musconetcong River in the Changewater area recently and found there were
actually four pipelines crossing the river between the tank farm and
pumping station. All were 6 inch pipes and very old and rusty. Chevron told
us there were only two pipelines and that they were filled with concrete
and made inert. Of course we are dubious and will ask them to remove all of
them.\r\n\r\nBTW, we are pretty sure that the pipeline in Finesville is an
old water pipe.\r\n\r\nChuck Gullage\r\nTrustee Emeritus - Musconetcong
Watershed Association

David Middlebrook23 Nov 2013, 15:45

I believe Finesville is too far South for the Tidewater Pipeline. From
Changewater it crosses the Delaware River at Hutchinson (between
Phillpsburg and Belvidere). For a short period of time the flow of the
pipeline was reversed to service a storage facility at Windgap PA. (Check
the web). I have been trying to find the location of the South Plainfield
terminal. Ron, if you could provide an address or steet name I would
appreciate it. Roger, the pipes were not built at the same time, the
second pipe was an addition. I often wondered why they didn't build the
second pipe with a larger diameter, even going from 6 inches to 8 inches
would have make a big difference.

Does anyone know if a portion of this pipeline ran through Finesville,
Warren County, NJ? I do water quality monitoring for the Musconetcong
Watershed Association on the Musconetcong River. Recently we discovered a
very old 4" iron pipeline buried in the streambed crossing the Musconetcong
River in Finesville in an area where we plan to do some work with heavy
equipment in the river. If it is an abandoned oil pipeline we do not want
to crush the pipe from running a trackhoe over it. Any information on this
pipeline would be appreciated.\r\n\r\nThanks,\r\nChuck Gullage\r\nTrustee
Emeritus - Musconetcong Watershed Association.

Ron Williamson17 Jan 2013, 11:41

David Middlebrook said the last pumping station was Changewater NJ. The
last pumping station going east was South Plainfield, NJ. I was a truck
driver for getty Oil CO. hauling #2 oil out of the Changewater terminal.
Once in a while, while they were pumpnig heavy we would haul kerosene to
South Plainfield NJ and Hudsondale PA. Ralph Lomerson worked out of the
loading terminal, Some of the employes were Hank Mayer Line Foreman,
Arnold Wyings, Bill Wyings\r\nA good story to read about the Tidewater pipe
line, go to Google and type in Tidewater Pipeline- Coryville, PA Makes you
think About who laided the first pipe line.

Frank Fenner 01 Dec 2012, 07:32

I found signs that say high-pressure petroleum and fiber optic cable lines
on top of Wind gap hill pa on a piece of land I recently purchased on the
deed it has a right away for Tidewater pipe company is the Williamsport to
bayone run

Roger Bacon22 Oct 2012, 11:03

Interesting article. I saw the pipeline yesterday on the fall foliage train
excursion along the Lehigh river from Jim Thorpe. I am also familiar with
the pipeline passing through Changewater. Why were two pipes required?
There is a connection in my family on my dad's side with respect to
Worthington pumps.\r\n\r\nRoger Bacon\r\nPhillipsburg, NJ

nick Combates21 May 2012, 09:08

In Lebanon Township, NJ, there is a pipeline marker on Little Brook
Road.\r\n\r\nThe sign states there is a high pressure petroleum line and
also a conduit for fiber optic cable.\r\n\r\nIs the petroleum line still
active, or is it currently used to carry fiber optic cable as stated above?
Is there a way to confirm the information?\r\n\r\nThank you, Nick Combates

Bill02 Apr 2012, 06:21

Minisink Bicentennial I mean.

Bill02 Apr 2012, 06:10

The tank fields were on a hill at the corner of State Line and Oil City
Road. Coords: 41.290573,-74.542859. I know this because my house was at
the bottom of the hill. In the mid-80's the Town of Minisink put together
a small photographic history book for its centennial. One of the pictures
was of my hill and was titled something like "Great Oil City Fire." You
clearly saw the tank fields on fire. First I had ever heard of the oil
history in my backyard. When you were walking the AT you were very close
to the old tank field. Hope this helps.

Mark Wallace13 Nov 2011, 16:07

I now heard the oil lines ran up to the top of Pochuck Mt. This helps with
direction.

Mark Wallace21 Aug 2011, 07:08

Looking at a google map, a straight line from Unionville NY pumping station
to Newfoundland pumping station may have kept the pipe line between
Wallkill River and Rt. 284 or it crossed the Wallkill right at the location
of the Unionville pumping station. Any ideas how we can find out the
direction of the pipeline out of the Unionville pumping station? I also
did a google satellite search and a walk along the AT at the Pumping
station and can find no clue of the tank field. Would the tank fields be
level with the pumps or elevated?

kathy07 Aug 2011, 19:30

this is very interesting to me!!!i live in rixford pa and right down the
road from us there is the ruins of a pump house maybe idk to be sure but if
any one has any info to share bout round here i would love to hear about i
have been looking for history about rixford on the internet and have not
come up with a whole lot!!!!

Mark Wallace29 Jun 2011, 12:19

I live on Oil City Rd. in NJ, it is not connected to the Oil City Rd. in NY
(may have been at one time). The pump house you have a photo of is still
there on state Line Rd Between the two Oil City Rds. I hear it was a toxic
waste clean up site( not on any current list I can find), at one time.
Carnegie Industries(light manufacturing built in 1925 it states) 17,000 sq
ft for sale now about $388,000 in Unionville, NY. I would like to know the
directions of the pipeline in and out.Local rumor is that our rd got that
name because of leaks in the pipeline. Would be nice to know if it is near
my well or not.

Paul Gavin31 Jan 2011, 06:01

Right next to the "Getty Pipeline - Changewater" sign on Blair Road,
Carteret are 2 Orange Fiber Optic markers. Did Williams
Communications/Wiltel buy the Getty Pipeline from Texaco in the 1990s?
Wiltel sold its Network Operations LDDS/MCI Worldcom in 1995. Was Getty
Pipeline sold to them in this Network Operations sale? Or did Wiltel retain
it after the sale of its Network Operations to LDDS/MCI Worldcom? In 2005,
Wiltel's remaining assets were bought out of Bankruptcy by Level 3? So, who
owns the Getty Pipeline today???

Bob Bartnett27 Jan 2011, 11:49

Did Wiltel buy the line(s) from Getty?

Bob Bartnett27 Jan 2011, 11:29

How many Getty lines were on Blair rd.?

David Middlebrook26 Jan 2011, 15:23

It either goes through Carteret or it passes just West of Carteret. Below
is the path through the area:\r\n\r\nCrosses Rt 35 by the tracks next to
the Woodbridge Public Library.\r\n\r\nCrosses Rahway Ave. by the Rahway
Ave. Park (near the power lines).\r\n\r\nCrosses Omar Ave. by the railroad
tracks, (close to the Blair Rd. intersection).\r\n\r\nThe Eastern most sign
I found was on Blair Rd., just before it intersects with Roosevelt
Ave.\r\n\r\nI was told the pipeline crossed into Staten Island on it's way
to Bayonne, but I haven't been able to verify this.\r\n

Bob Bartnett26 Jan 2011, 07:27

I meant Carteret, NJ.

Bob Bartnett26 Jan 2011, 07:09

I found the Getty sign in Carteet, NJ along with the Wiltel fiber optics
sign.\r\nIs this the same pipeline that runs through Changewater?

Yes, the Tidewater Pipeline passed through Lebanon Township. As I
mentioned the pumping station was in Changewater along the Musconetcong
River. It crossed Springtown Rd, went through the Hawk Pointe Golf Club.
It crossed 31 just North of the "One Stop Ace Home Center". And it crossed
Rt 57 at the intersection of Halfway House Rd.\r\n\r\nRalph Lomerson (who
was the Lebanon Township Historian), used to be a foreman for the Tidewater
Pipeline. I am sorry to say that Ralph passed away July 17, 2010.

John D'Alessio04 Nov 2010, 11:22

Does this line run through Laebanon Township? I understand a line runs
behind my home and I'm trying to figure out which one.

Tidewater Pump Station In Rixford PA\r\nwas torn down in Sept 2006. In
later years it was owned by Bradford Transit Company. Tidewater line was
built by independent oil producers as Standard Oil would not take their oil
in their lines. As a young boy I used to go to the pump station and watch
the operators use the telegraph system to communicate with other stations
on the line.

David Middlebrook24 Aug 2009, 15:30

The pipeline that crossed Frank Beatty's farm was probably the Tidewater
pipeline. The pipeline started in Rixford PA. It originally terminated in
Williamsport PA, but by 1886 it had reached Bayonne NJ. The pipeline is now
owned by Williams Tele-Communications and is now used as a conduit for
fiber optic cable. The pipeline can be identified by rectangular orange
signs at some road crossings (unfortunately not all road crossings are
identified). There are also a few older signs that are identified as "Getty
- Changewater NJ". Changewater NJ was the location of the last pumping
station before Bayonne. There is a historical marker where the pipeline
crosses the Lehigh River on a suspension bridge, (located in the Lehigh
River Gorge State Park). Listed below are some of the major road crossings
in NJ: Rt 31 (South of Washington NJ), Vernoy Rd North of Califon NJ),
Liberty Corner Road (South of Mt. Horeb Rd), Washington Rd (South of
Dunellen, NJ).

Living in Butler NJ all my life and with family in the area since about
1829, I never knew about this pipeline until picking up a copy of "The Next
Station" series that dealt with the NYS&W here in New Jersey. According to
that book it followed the NYS&W between Newfoundland (Jefferson Township,
Morris County) and Midland Park (Bergen county). I understand that
sometime after the City of Newark established it's Pequannock Watershed in
the 1880's, a leak caused contamination with Newark gaining a court order
forcing Mr Rockefeller to build a bypass north and east through the present
day Hewitt section of West Milford, Ringwood and Wanaque with it rejoining
the established pipeline in Pompton Lakes. Some of the piers still exist
where it crossed rivers and streams.

Frank S. Beatty15 May 2009, 06:39

I grew up on a 180 acre farm between Liberty Corner & Pluckamin NJ. We had
an East West Pipeline through the southern part of the farm, It must have
come through Far Hills or Bedminster. About 1935 crews came threw and
refurbished the line. I was about 8 or 10 at the time. Thought this might
be of interest,

brenda01 Sep 2008, 21:51

hi,i'm looking for information about how road crossings are built over a
pipeline,how the pipe is protected

Dudley Warner07 Jul 2008, 11:47

I am looking for information about other (ie Texas-Eastern)pipelines in
Bayonne, NJ. Can you sugest potential resources for investigating abandoned
pipelines?

nat hendricks28 Apr 2008, 07:42

Good morning... Do you have any more information on the National Transit
Pipeline. Construction, route maps, further pollution etc.\r\n\r\nThanks.
\r\n\r\nNat Hendricks\r\n336 State St\r\nBrooklyn, NY 11217\r\n\r\nTel:
718.834.1010

Could you tell me if this pipeline came down the Susquehanna railroad right
of way.If it did where did it start on the NYS&W RR. and where did it
leave. I seen a building on route 97 in the town of Cochton, NY. I was told
this a oil pump station this sits along the old ERIE RR main line.is this
part of the pipeline.\r\nThanks-- Steve Schiefer

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